1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to nestable carts for use at supermarkets or the like and, more particularly, to a bumper arrangement for use on nestable carts.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Nestable carts for use at supermarkets or the like are widely known in the art. In general, such carts each include a basket supported upon a metal frame wherein the basket is formed with a rear panel that is adapted to pivot upon being engaged by a front portion of another cart. With this arrangement, the front portion of one cart can become nested within the basket of the other cart. This enables numerous carts to be stored in a compact manner.
The baskets for such carts are either formed from metal wires or plastic. Forming the baskets from plastic has numerous advantages since, for example, the baskets can be made lighter for ease of maneuverability, the plastic will not rust or corrode, and the baskets are less likely to cause damage to vehicles in the parking lot of a store using such baskets. Unfortunately, carts made with plastic baskets suffer from the drawback that when the carts are nested or unnested, direct plastic-to-plastic or plastic-to-metal contact can occur which will, over time, wear the plastic down in the contact areas.
In the prior art, this problem has been solved by providing bumpers at the contact areas between the carts in order to protect the plastic. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,774 discloses a cart having a plastic basket that is, at least partially, attached to a cart frame by a metal reinforcing ring that extends within a groove formed about the upper, outer perimeter of the basket. At the front panel of each cart, a pair of spaced bumpers are separately secured, for instance by welding, to the reinforcing ring. The bumpers are adapted to directly engage other contact members carried by the rear panel of another cart in order to prevent direct engagement between plastic portions of the baskets during nesting and unnesting of the carts.
Although the presence of the bumpers functions well to protect the plastic baskets from undue wear, the connections between the bumpers and the reinforcing ring have been known to fail over time mainly due to the fatigue loading placed thereon. In addition, assembly of the bumpers to the reinforcing ring requires an additional manufacturing step, as well as the production of additional components. Obviously, these factors result in increased repair and manufacturing costs.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a bumper arrangement for use on plastic, nestable carts which will not only function to protect the plastic of the cart baskets from undue wear but which will be more economical to manufacture and more reliable.